


like his own soul

by TheTinyTortoise



Series: MCU daemon fic [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Daemons, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-29
Updated: 2018-04-29
Packaged: 2019-04-29 22:22:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14482446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheTinyTortoise/pseuds/TheTinyTortoise
Summary: When the war’s PR guys look at Saoirse, they click their tongues and shake their heads. “No,” one says flat out, right to Steve’s face. “Not her.”





	like his own soul

When the war’s PR guys look at Saoirse, they click their tongues and shake their heads. “No,” one says flat out, right to Steve’s face. “Not her.”

 

He points to where Bucky’s sitting nearby and laughing with Dugan, Andi lounging at his feet. Andi glances up when she feels his stare, one ear twitching. “Captain America needs someone like  _ her  _ at his side.”

 

“Well, Saoirse and I are kind of a package deal,” Steve says dryly, scratching behind Saoirse’s ears.

 

The PR guy just grins. “Oh, pal. Just leave it to me.”

 

And thus, one of the biggest deceptions at the heart of the Captain America image is born.

 

The posters and reels of the Captain America show are carefully edited to remove any glimpse of Saoirse, mercilessly cutting out any hint of black and white fur. The posters are redrawn to include a huge, golden cat at Steve’s side, teeth bared artfully in a growl.

 

Bucky and Andi like to admire the posters in their free time. “I think they got your nose wrong,” Bucky teases her. Andi pretends to swipe at him.

 

On the battlefield, there’s no editing process to hide Saoirse’s presence, but it turns out there’s no need. Most days, Steve and Bucky fight so close that Saoirse and Andi are shoulder to shoulder, and there’s no telling who belongs to who. There’s no reason to believe that Andi’s not Steve’s, so no one does. Anyone who remembers that Bucky Barnes didn’t always have a dog daemon is told to forget, quick and in a hurry.

 

Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes’ records are quietly edited, and their new daemons go down in history.

 

Seventy years later, when Steve is pulled out of the ice, Director Fury lets out a loud curse when he sees the border collie curled up next to him. “What the  _ fuck  _ happened to her?” He snaps.

 

Poor Coulson has to sit down. The shock’s a bit too much for him.

  
Later, when the Winter Soldier crawls out of the hole he’s been stashed in, a worn, scarred lioness lurking at his side, everything makes a hell of a lot more sense.

**Author's Note:**

> Saoirse is a border collie. She looks something like this: https://vetstreet.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/467e30f/2147483647/crop/0x0%2B0%2B0/resize/645x380/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fvetstreet-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fa8%2Fc895909e8d11e0a2380050568d634f%2Ffile%2FBorder-Collie-2-645mk062111.jpg
> 
> Andi is a lioness. Her name is short for Alexandra, which means ‘defender of men’. I thought that was pretty appropriate for Bucky. She looks something like this: https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/animal-jam-clans-1/images/2/26/Hunting-lioness_00443932.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20160624163006  
> After the fall, she looks like this: http://africageographic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/white-lioness-timbavati.jpg


End file.
